The Nauta

The Guardians of Fittoa(part 2)

"Report: altitude: 300 kilometres, flight, all systems optimal, no commands, update complete".

In the enclosed confines, Cikagn sensed trouble before it hit.

"Report: altitude: 300 kilometres, flight, all systems optimal, command: evade enemy attack, central command announcement, connecting to central."

"To assault fleet, this is Falcon forward command, the enemy has some sort of anti-air measures in the form of streamlined spears, all units are to increase altitude, repeat, evade and increase altitude!"

The first harpoon hit the pilot cabin.

"Report: altitude: 300 kilometres, flight, flight aircraft systems error, flight systems damaged, fire in pilot cabin..."

With a crack of static, Cikagn heard his headsets being remotely turned on, "Seb, powered up the vehicle", he said with a clear and calm voice as he motioned to Andrew, "Man the weapons." he said, "Amy, figure out if we can open the hatch, we gotta get out of here".

"Ryokai" they said.

"This is Talon unit 3, broadcasting to all units in the hangar, system report"

Static.

Cikagn sighed, "Amy, is the hatch good or not"

"Negative" came the reply.

Cikagn sighed again, as the engine revved to life, the electrical hum of equipment lit up the cabin of the APC, as 2 more flaming harpoons stuck to their plane's hull.

"Andrew, you are talon two, Amy, talon three. Seb, talon four, I am talon one, alright, let's get to work," said Cikagn with analytical proficiency, "talon two, aim at the hatch, on my command, fire, we're gonna blow it away." he said clearly, "talon three, man the engine, the moment the hole in the hatch is big enough, drive out. Talon four, technical and system report."

"Talon two, confirmed"

"Talon three, confirmed"

"Talon four, confirmed"

A click started at the pilot chair, as Andrew and Amy began at the controls. Seb took a touch sensitive screen from the walls. A hum filled the cabin as the gun on top of the vehicle swung into position.

"Ready when you are" said Andrew.

"Fire."

The rhythmic crackle of gunfire echoed through the controversially quiet hangar, drilling hole after hole into the hatch. Nevertheless, they were too late. One of the harpoons lodged itself into the aircraft's engines, which exploded. The pilotless aircraft spun out of control, whirling through the air, making the APCs tumble around the hangar, crashing into each other. A bead of sweat rolled down Andrew's forehead, as he struggled with the aim, Amy ripped the control sticks across its ledges, driving the vehicle, trying to maintain upright in the spinning hangar while avoiding the other vehicles. An APC crashed into the other, and with a squeal of metal, one of them smashed into the walls, as the other slammed into the weakened hatch.

3 more spears lodged into the aircraft.

The hatch, riddled with holes, did not offer much resistance to the 11 ton block of solid armour and metal as an APC disappeared into the sky, flying right into the volley of flaming spears. It caught fire in midair.

"Everyone get out of the vehicle! Talon three, remain and man the car! Drive out of the hatch, now!" yelled Cikagn, as he pressed the button to open the blastproof door of the APC, the talons clambered out of the vehicle, swinging themselves up onto its roof awkwardly as the engine roared. The armoured transport barreled across the hangar, rushing towards the sky. Cikagn felt the tremor of his armour as it scraped against the hangar roof. He clicked a dial on his wrist, tensing himself.

The vehicle shot out of the hangar with a whoosh of smoke, as Cikagn leapt up, thrusting both his hands back at the aircraft. 2 lines of string shot out from the back of his hands, one of them buried itself into the armour of the APC, as the other stuck to a wing of the unstable aircraft. A gasp of air escaped his lungs as he felt as if his arms were ripping apart before the exoskeleton in his suit activated. The AR interface on his ballistic goggles lit up, showing that the force drawn on the suit is exceeding its limits. He gritted his teeth as the 11 ton of metal swung a full circle across the sky with momentum from the drop, the metal strings maintained its path, twanging all the way, various strands beginning to spring loose as Cikagn's exoskeleton protested against the pressure. He felt as if his muscles were on fire. With a groan, he willed his arms to pull towards each other. His armour creaking, he somehow managed to move his arms a centimetre. It was a subtle change, but it led to a dramatic increase of stress on the plane's wings; and with a screech of metal and a scream of wires, the APC tumbled off its path on its way to make a second loop in the sky, Cikagn's piece of string ripping a wing from the airplane. The vehicle made its way a little higher into the sky, before gravity won against momentum, pulling it back towards the ground.

The APC landed squarely on the flaming wing in the air, as they fell across the sky in a trail of black smoke and cinder. Seb and Andrew secured Cikagn back onto the roof of the vehicle, as they heard the onslaught of a thousand spears slamming themselves into the flaming wing. "Talon two, get those engines off our shield"

"Ryokai"

Andrew leapt into the air, skydiving until he was on level with the flaming wrecks. Drawing a dagger, he stabbed an incoming harpoon, deflecting it out of its path as he managed to kick away another. Flipping in the air, he dodged one of them as it sped past him. He spun, avoiding another one before he took aim with a missile launcher at one of the engines, clicking the trigger with hesitation before launching three more at the other burning engines. A massive explosion sent him tumbling across the air. His suit spiky with shrapnels, his vision blurred from the shock. Andrew grabbed a harpoon in midair, his AR display warning him that the object contains high temperature. Spinning the spear, he deflected off more of them as he tried to regain his balance in the air. Spreading his body wide, he managed to stop his tumble, and he saw the view below.

They were in the midst of an endless sea of gleaming bodies, the Galkaim army.

And the air resistance was too slow to spirit him in time.

Andrew spun as he dodged three more spears whizzing past him, flicking another off its path. He managed to kick away one more of them before his left foot lost feeling. Afraid of what he might see, he glanced across. His left foot was smashed, the armour crushed by the tip of a harpoon that passed by him. Blood seeped through the cracks of the broken armour, trailing behind him. Panicked, he opened fire with his machine gun. 

The bullets struck the remnants of the blazing engine below.

Cikagn and Seb saw a whizz of black zoom past them, as Seb leapt into the air and grabbed an unconscious Andrew by the waist, before swinging back onto the APC with the string he attached to it. "Report injuries" said Cikagn calmly. Right now, every moment is crucial, they cannot afford any emotions.

"First degree burns, non-crucial. Complete immobility of left leg and below. Shock from exposure. Estimated not to be life-threatening."

"Acknowledged." said Cikagn. Beneath his helmet, his face is scrunched up, his eyebrows taut with concentration as he tried to think of a way to get them out of this situation. He tried to calm himself down by thinking of how they would have a good laugh at this mission over their cozy roof hatch with some Sprites back in Falcon city when this is all over. Encouraged, he crept to the edge of the APC to look at the situation below.

Right in time to see a flaming wreck of metal and heat rushing towards them. 

Inside the APC, a mechanical voice connected, "System report: minimum altitude reached, launching parachute."

The white cloth that caught in the air was quickly turned black as the racket of fireball slammed into them. The parachute disintegrating into the burning air above them as the screech of metal and fire blinded the talons perched on the roof of the armoured vehicle.